Elys confesses

It takes a couple days, but eventually even Maya and Sadie are ready to leave the mountain. You gather supplies for the journey, planning to pay a visit to Queen Sella on your way south. You don your new armor for the departure, much to the delight of the ‘fan club’ you’ve developed among the dwarves.

Travel goes quickly, making good time to the border, where you see a team clearing the wreckage of the watch post. Not wanting to interrupt their work, you pass by with just a greeting.

The rest of the trip goes without incident, and you make camp about a days ride from your destination. As you finish setting up, however, Elys approaches you.

“I told you I would talk once we finished with the dwarvesss. Can we talk now? With Maya?”

You nod, and call Maya away from her conversation with Clarissa. Elys smiles, and the three of you settle on a nearby log to talk.

Elys begins. “Ssso, I’ve never really gone into my hissstory. I’ve really only shared the ssstory of my exile. Well, the reassson I need to go sssouth isss...my mother.”

You and Maya look at each other. Elys never talks about her time before being exiled to the new world. She continues. “I am...my mother isss the queen of Mermouthia. I am her only child, and heir.”

She continues, as you look at her in surprise. “My mother isss a sssiren. My father wasss a rare male born of a gorgon. He looked human, but I got the powersss and sssnakesss.”

She smiles, petting one of the snakes in her hair. “At firssst, there wasss an uproar. But my mother isss beloved by the people, and before long, I wasss accepted asss heir. My father died when I wasss very young, sssome kind of illnesss.”

Her silver eyes grow distant as she relives her youth. “I found myssself betrothed to a noble from a powerful family. It wasss not what I wanted, but it wasss for the good of the kingdom. But the man wasss...corrupt. The thingsss he wanted to do to me... I knew even then that I preferred girlsss, but he almossst made me ssswear off men entirely.”

Elys smiles. “Until I met you, Josh. But I could not ssstay. Ssso I fled. Unfortunately, I fled to Halid’s kingdom. The noble found me there. Cornered me in and alley, sssaying he wasss going to take what he wanted. I turned him and hisss croniesss to ssstone. I made up a ssstory about a goblin in a panic. In Mermouthia I would have been fine, I wasss beloved there. But with Halid...I wasss told I wasss a danger, and cassst out. The ressst you know.”

Maya hugs Elys. “I’m so sorry. And now we can go see your mother, right?”

Elys nods. “Josh sssaid we could go there next.”

You nod. “More so than ever. Will your mother be happy to see you?”

Elys looks down. “I...I don’t know. I hope ssso.”

You smile, and kiss her cheek. “Only one way to find out, future Queen.”

Maya giggles. “I’ve been sleeping with a princess!”

Elys laughs. “Thank you for lissstening, both of you. I needed to sssay all that.”